Kudos to you if you are back to read more after reading yesterday’s post. It was a doozy, for sure. We were talking about floods and demons and God’s wrath. I even threw in a little dental lesson on the importance of brushing one’s teeth. ;-) 

 But all kidding aside, it was a serious post and one you might want to revisit, looking up all those passages and letting God bring to light what He is doing in this hour as He awakens a ‘sleeping church’ or remnant. (Matt. 25:5-7) 

 The flood is here and will continue to bring darkness, despair, and destruction to those not in the ‘ark’. Daniel talked about the end coming ‘like a flood’ (9:26) and as he was finishing up his letter/book, he asked God for more clarification to the things He was revealing to him. You might read through chapter 12 there as God explains to Daniel that during this time period, many people will be ‘running to and fro’ and knowledge will increase’ (4). Sounds something similar to what Paul wrote in 2 Tim. 3:1-7 how men would always be learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Yet God told Daniel that while many would be purified and refined and made white, the wicked would continue to do wickedly and would not understand. But the ‘wise shall understand’. (9-10). Just like those ‘wise virgins’ did in Matt. 25 and made themselves ready and went in to the wedding before the door was shut. (10) 

 Noah and his family also entered in through a door that was then shut by God....just before the flood came. Jesus seemed to suggest the same thing would happen at the end of the age prior to His return as well. And for the record, I am not posting these daily studies trying to convince anyone that ‘the end is upon us’ or that some ‘rapture’ is about to take place. I have no idea when...all that will occur. But what I am compelled to do here is share one passage after another that seems to be jumping off the pages these days to awaken a sleeping church, or remnant...or ‘whoever has ears to hear’. Paul was busy doing the same thing back in his day as he wrote how those believers needed to ‘wake up’ and ‘find out what the Lord wants and to be wise, redeeming the time for the days are evil. (Eph. 5:8-21) 

 He did, after all make it quite clear that God’s wrath was already being unleashed...back then. Not ‘was gonna be’, but ‘Is’. (Rom. 1:18). He even pointed back in history to previous demonstrations as to how God dealt with His people when they did not obey Him, strongly suggesting that those things were written down for ‘OUR’ example and admonition...upon us for whom the ‘end of the ages had come’. (1 Cor. 10:6-12) 

 Make no mistake about it...the flood is on its way. And it’s not water and rising rivers or oceans that we are warned about either. It is the rising tide of evil and darkness that is upon the earth, a deep darkness, as Isaiah described it as covering the earth. (60:1-2) 

 This flood is the powers of darkness, angels of destruction being released or set loose (Ps. 78:49) and when the enemy comes in...he comes in like a ‘flood’. (Isa.59:19). And they have permission to attack anywhere they see sin...including in the ‘church’. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been a member there either. (Eph. 5:6) 

 You should also be reminded that we are not to fear this enemy, rather, simply to be aware of him, alert to his schemes, and then to resist him when he does surface, standing and relying on the grace of God’s power, being assured that when we do resist him, he has to flee. (James 4:7) But if the enemy has already gained access because of sin, then you gave place to him. (Eph. 4:27). And true, godly repentance can eradicate him. But again, we are not to fear this enemy. God alone, is the only One to be feared. 

 So just how does this play out...this ‘flood of wrath’ that the bible seems to suggest is the devil and demons and such? Let’s take a look again at scripture and see what it has to say. 

 It’s not like all these demon spirits are flying around and attacking people at will, like a giant locust swooping down and carrying people away similar to what those flying monkeys did in the Wizard of Oz. But it’s ‘sort of like that’. How so? Well, for starters, when we sin...we open the door to be taken 'captive'.

 Take a look at Revelation 12 where we are told how Satan and all these demon spirits ended up here to begin with. (7-12). The next group of verses talk of how this great dragon began to persecute this ‘woman’ a type of the church and her offspring. Please note vs. 15 that says the ‘serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood.” Sounds like this fits nicely into the narrative we’ve been studying, does it not? And what did the flood do? It ‘carried them away’. 

 What comes out of a mouth? Words do. Lots of words. (Prov. 18:4) And we know the enemy comes to not only steal, kill, and destroy, but he comes to ‘deceive’. (Rev. 12:9; John 8:44). How does he do that? The same way he’s always done that...tries to get us to back off from God’s word where we become ‘free game’. You need only go back to Genesis 3 and see how he does that. He merely convinced Eve that God did not really mean what He said. (Gen. 2:17). That serpent subtly wove a tale taking God’s word and twisting it around before saying just the opposite of what God said. (Gen. 3:4) –‘You surely will not die.” Paul would later write expressing concern that if we were not careful, the same thing could happen to us. (2 Cor. 11:2-4) He even suggested we might end up following ‘another Jesus’ and that we better not underestimate the power of the enemy who could actually appear as an ‘angel of light’. (vs. 14) 

 The Spirit ‘expressly says that in latter times, some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits, and doctrines of demons...” (1 Tim. 4:1-2) That’s what happened to Adam and Eve and as Jesus warned, would happen once again in these days. (Matt. 24:4-5,11-12,24) 

 Take a look at James 1:13-16 and note how ‘brethren’ can be ‘deceived’ and ‘drawn or carried away’ by Satan’s enticements as he lures us to fulfill the desires of the sinful flesh nature. And if we don’t deal with that nature, as in putting it to death, it’s only a matter of time before you will succumb to this ‘death’ and separation from God. That’s what sin does. 

 And Satan uses words...to plant that seed in our minds. It begins with a ‘seed’. That is probably why Paul took time to discuss this idea of a ‘spiritual war’ and ‘weapons’ and the importance of ‘bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ’. (2 Cor. 10:4-5) 

 Satan wants us to ‘believe a lie’. It is through that deception that he can work his way in to our lives like that ‘spiritual bacteria’ we talked about yesterday. When we are not truly abiding in Jesus, we are more often than not, oblivious to his schemes and devices. Why do you think you get drug in to so much drama and conflict and confrontation with other people...even people you should be loving like your own family? 

 How often have you succumbed to just the most subtle suggestion the enemy casually planted that led you to having a panic attack, or wallowing in fear and anxiety and worry or depression. It’s as if he can plant one thought, like a ‘spark’ and then throws gas on it and it just takes off. Maybe you’ve been in a place where various ‘compulsions’ just came over you and before you knew it, you were acting out in anger or lust or whatever sin so easily besets you. And if it wasn’t you...that was falling prey to such outlandish behavior, then before you knew it, you were appalled and offended by the actions of others who were taken captive. And instead of praying “Father forgive them, they know not what they do’, (like Jesus prayed), you are getting offended and put out and faulting those people for doing such things. 

 This leads to a hardening of your heart (Matt. 24:12) and then, if you are not careful, here comes a flaming arrow that settles in and spreads a root of bitterness that begins to poison you. Instead of ‘making room for God’s wrath’ and repaying evil with good’ (Rom. 10:17-21) now you have set yourself up as judge and jury. You are, in effect, bringing the same judgement on yourself that you wanted to see on those ‘heathen offenders’. (Matt. 7:1-2) And you do recall what Jesus told us that our Father in heaven would do to us should we choose not to forgive others from the heart? He’d turn us over to the ‘torturers and tormentors’. (Matt. 18:34-35) 

 We are truly living in dark, confusing, and evil times. And one of the reasons why darkness has prevailed is because the case could be made that the church has allowed its ‘light’ to diminish. Darkness never prevails over light. Darkness is simply the absence of light. Hence, the reason God will bring judgment on His church first...before He deals with the rest of the world. (1 Pet. 4:17—18) 

 May I offer you up some simple advice today if you are reading through this...and trying to piece it all together to make it fit in the ‘box’ (man’s doctrines) you’ve always been told how to believe? Just set aside all your timelines and charts and rapture theories along with your denomination’s ‘recipe’ for getting ‘saved’ and just let God speak to you through His word. Take a deep breath and ask yourself...are you truly ‘in the ark’ as in: are you abiding in Christ? This is not about rehearsing how you walked an aisle or got baptized or did so many wonderful things in His name for the kingdom like all those folks in Matt. 7:21-23. 

 IF...you are abiding in Him, then the enemy can’t touch you. (1 John 5:18). You will be walking in perfect peace and...amazingly...you won’t be ‘sinning every day throughout the day’ like so many have been misled to believe. (1 John 3:6,9; John 8:34-36) 

 It does not take a rocket scientist to look around and recognize that some sort of ‘flood’ is on the land today. The most important thing you could do is make sure you are ‘in the ark’ and abiding under the shelter of His wings. (Matt. 23:37; Ps. 91:1-13). I realize we are always talking about how this ‘salvation’ is a ‘free gift’ from God and all that. I’m not going to debate that but you should know...that in order to ‘board the ark’, the price of the ticket is not cheap. It will cost you your life. But what profit is it to you to gain the whole world and lose your own soul. And if you try to ‘save your life (old sinful nature), you will lose it. But if you ‘lay it down’ (price of admission), you will find true life in Jesus. His words, not mine. I don’t see any other ‘options’ out there that offer you and I a way of escape; do you?